Arjun and Rishi are two young digital creators from structurally excluded communities living in the stigmatised regions of north Chennai. Even though both owned a smartphone each, their devices had only basic features. The duo knew their limitations, but they wanted to question the caste...
Realizing the value of thousand year Tamil Jain idols lying abandoned on a paddy land, a Ramanathapuram village came together to protect them. Sculptures of Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, and Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara, of Jainism were lying abandoned on a paddy land in Mel...
Every day, the Blue Cross of India in Chennai receives calls from pet parents who want to ‘donate’ their dogs or cats to the institution, which rescues and rehabilitates orphaned, abandoned and disabled stray animals. When the volunteers deny their request, they get offended. In the dead of the...
Just like other writers, Sa Kandasamy left behind a vast collection of books when he died. What will happen to the books of a writer’s personal collection after his death? In most cases, they will end up in stalls that sell second-hand books, if not immediately. The heirs of the writers may not...
Was there any cultural link between Jammu & Kashmir, the northernmost state of India and Tamil Nadu, the southernmost? Yes, according to young research scholar Prathik Murali. "Kashmir was a centre for the study of philosophy having close connections with two of the greatest Indian...
Sallekhana: For the unaware, fasting to death may seem painful but it is one of the sacred tenets of Jainism. A tall, lean man with a visible rib cage lies on the bed with his left leg slightly folded towards his right leg. The elderly man is surrounded by Jain nuns who offer prayers, holding...
Native rice varieties of Tamil Nadu seems to be everywhere yet actually only somewhere. Rice has been closely associated with the cultural life of people since the Sangam era. Tamil Nadu had a great collection of native landraces (varieties) of rice, but they all lost their importance with the...
Climate change is his all consuming life passion and he will tour TN soon to create awareness on the catastrophe that awaits humanity unless something is done now. In 2020, Chetan Singh Solanki, a professor at IIT Bombay, applied for a long leave for 11 years. He also decided not to visit his...
Many take up the job of a housemaid to take care of their family but A Meena does it to take care of her 14 dogs. The money that she gets from the three houses where she works is used for buying food for the dogs. Meena has been living with the dogs for more than 24 years, and there is a...
The recent TN budget promised to make Jain, Buddhist religious sites in Tamil Nadu world-class tourist centers. These sites now have poor access, have little or no facilities. Jainism was once popular across today’s Tamil Nadu. The abandoned and neglected Jain monuments across the state stand...
